Revealed: The royal glove-maker where the Queen of Thrift's favourite pairs are mended rather than replaced

She is known for economising. Now it has been revealed that the Queen’s thriftiness extends to her gloves, which she has repaired where possible, rather than replacing them.

Royal glove-maker Genevieve Lawson says: ‘Every 18 months or so the Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly, will put in an order for some new gloves but we’ll also have some sent back to us for repair. It’s normally quite minor repairs such as restitching the seams. The Queen looks after her gloves but she shakes an awful lot of hands. It’s an occupational hazard.’

In 2010 she carried out 444 engagements, and a conservative estimate of 100 handshakes per visit equals 44,400 for that year alone. Her gloves are handmade in black, white, cream or navy cotton by East Sussex company Cornelia James then sent in the post. The Queen pays full price.

Mrs Lawson, 56, says: ‘I design them, my husband cuts them and we have a small team making them up. We also make gloves for Princess Anne, and a few years ago she sent back a navy pair saying they had faded. We sent them off for analysis, as the colour should not fade, and it turned out there were heavy deposits of hand cream in the cotton.’

Cornelia James was founded by Mrs Lawson’s Jewish mother after she fled from the Nazis in 1939. The company has supplied Her Majesty since 1947.

What a neat article Warren. Thanks for sharing. I suppose after so many handshakes something is bound to give. I thought she would just buy more gloves but I guess not. The Queen is definitely thrifty.

As the nation prepares to celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and her 60 year reign, behold the designer's sketch for Her Majesty's Coronation dress. The late Hartnell was originally charged with creating the wedding dress worn by Her Majesty in 1947 for her marriage to Prince Philip. That gown had a sweetheart neckline and full skirt and was embroidered with some 10,000 seed-pearls and many thousands of beads. It was trailed by a 15 foot star-patterned train.

I place my question here instead of opening a new thread, hope that is alright:
Does the Queen enjoy penal immunity?
What about Prince Philip?
What about the other royals?

The British Monarch cannot be charged for any offence because the common law holds that the Sovereign "can do no wrong".
The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 allows civil lawsuits against the Crown in its public capacity (lawsuits against the government), but not lawsuits against the Monarch personally. Furthermore, the Queen cannot be tried in Court because all court proceedings are done in her name; otherwise, it would be a case of Queen Elizabeth vs Queen Elizabeth - which simply cannot happen by default.

Prince Philip, along with other royals, can be prosecuted; only the Monarch has immunity - members of the Royal Family do not. In fact, several members of the Royal Family have been charged for minor offences. For example, in 2001 Princess Anne was charged for driving at 150 km/h on a dual carriageway; she was fined £400 and had 5 points added to her driving licence. In 2002, her dog attached two boys and she was convicted under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; she was fined £5400 and ordered to give her dog further training.

The British Monarch cannot be charged for any offence because the common law holds that the Sovereign "can do no wrong".
The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 allows civil lawsuits against the Crown in its public capacity (lawsuits against the government), but not lawsuits against the Monarch personally. Furthermore, the Queen cannot be tried in Court because all court proceedings are done in her name; otherwise, it would be a case of Queen Elizabeth vs Queen Elizabeth - which simply cannot happen by default.

What would happen if a non-British citizen were involved?
Let's say the Queen runs over a French man who dies - what would happen?

What would happen if a non-British citizen were involved?
Let's say the Queen runs over a French man who dies - what would happen?

In foreign countries, the Queen has diplomatic immunity, so she wouldn't be charged. In Britain, she cannot be charged for any offence, including criminal.
In reality, however, I would assume that if the Monarch is involved in a serious crime, that will plunge Monarchy into crisis and most likely result in the Monarch's abdication (or the end of monarchical system of government).

Mind you, I doubt the particular scenario - running over someone with a fatal result - is plausible; at her age, Her Majesty is highly unlikely to drive herself. And if her driver/bodyguard is behind the wheels, then he will be the one held responsible for the consequences of the accident.

Queen Elizabeth doesn't smoke, and never did. I think she might have strong aversion to the habit since her father, George VI, smoked heavily and had lung cancer. Although it has to be said that the sad fact never stopped Princess Margaret from becoming a heavy smoker herself.

Prince Philip smoked in his youth, but reportedly gave up before marrying the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth doesn't smoke, and never did. I think she might have strong aversion to the habit since her father, George VI, smoked heavily and had lung cancer. Although it has to be said that the sad fact never stopped Princess Margaret from becoming a heavy smoker herself.

Prince Philip smoked in his youth, but reportedly gave up before marrying the Queen.

When you say 'before marrying the Queen' you are absolutely correct. He had his last smoke as he left KP to go to the Abbey so his last smoke was 20th November, 1947.

I don't know if this is the right thread, but didn't know where else to post this:
Back in November 1997, at the Golden Anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip's wedding, there was a formal Banquet where both Herself and then-PM Tony Blair gave speeches. Hers has been probably one of the deepest and most sincere ones she has ever made when it comes to confession and her overview about the institution she presides. As for Blair's, it was the one occasion he best revealed his supportive emotions for the monarchy (I can't see how and why this relationship is considered as tensious by some) -the link for his speech I found here: ??97???HM the Queen and Prince Philip's Golden Wedding Anniversary - 20 November

My question is, does anyone knows if this banquet was televised and if there are videos of these speeches?

I assume that there must be _some_ kind of paperwork or documentary check that takes place at some point so that immigration officials aren't punked by impersonators who arrive a little before HM is expected. No? How does it work?

Well, their first hint might be that her overseas visits are well announced in advance. Their second hint might be the royal standard flying on the plane when it touches down. Their third hint might be The Duke of Edinburgh and the uniformed Equerry accompanying her. Their fourth hint might be the large entourage with her. Thir fifth hint might be the large press corps. Their sixth hint might be the red carpet rolled out waiting for her to disembark from the plane. Their seventh hint might be the line of dignitaries from their own country waiting to greet HM. It is unlikely HM would ever even encounter an Immigration official as she usually has a limousine waiting on the tarmack for her and the host head of state to drive away in.

Well, NGalizine, that is true for official visits. But she has also visited some contries (like the US) privatly, but even travelling 'private' would include a certain amount of prearrangements for securityresaons and so on...